the things we do for love
by Perdue
Summary: The plan to capture Annie is never created and thus Eren Jaeger must be tried in Military Court upon their return from the trip beyond the wall. But no matter what the Commander-in-Chief decides, Mikasa will refuse to let Eren go. Eremika.


so my good friend lorien had a birthday abooout six months ago and this is me being terrible and not getting a present to her until now.

the whole premise of this story is if mikasa and armin hadn't told erwin about their theory regarding annie and so them going to stohess was actually to try eren instead of to get annie!

**warnings:** violence and swearing! mostly violence.

**disclaimer:** do we still have to do these? of course i'm not making money off of this.

**the things we do for love**  
_-_

The people of Stohess aren't gathered on the streets to the same extent that they were when the Survey Corps first left Karanes, much less when they returned with so few survivors. But Eren and Mikasa can hear them even from outside the carriage, murmurs and exclamations, only rumors of why the leader of the Survey Corps and one of the new recruits have been summoned to the capital. Most of the words that float through have to do with the failure and uselessness of the Survey Corps. Mikasa puts her hand on Eren's arm. His brows have furrowed and his body is tense with anger. "Don't listen to them, Eren," she says softly. But she knows it isn't that easy.

It seems wrong for the sky to be so fair on a day like today. Mikasa moves her hand to Eren's. He looks at her, and his face softens a little, entwining his fingers with hers. She leans on him, and she might be happy to be with him like this if she didn't know that she may never see him again after today.

Armin and Jean walk outside the carriage, but they both know better than to talk now. Erwin and Levi take up the carriage behind Eren's.

"Erwin, is there really nothing we can do about this?" Levi asks, quietly enough that Armin and Jean wouldn't be able to hear him.

"I'm sorry, Levi. The deal was that we would be able to control him on our expedition beyond the walls."

"We did control him."

"I know," Erwin sighs. "But we came back with nothing but casualties and the knowledge that we have a traitor in our ranks somewhere, which was common knowledge before we left. We failed our objective and that is what the Military Police will focus on during Eren's trial. I am sorry, Levi. We're doing the best we can."

Levi crosses his arms over his chest and looks out of the carriage's window. The dead members of his squad pass through his mind, and he says nothing more.

When they arrive at the Military Court, Eren is torn between being glad the ride is over and wishing it could last longer. Having to hear the people outside slander his comrades so ignorantly is a torture he has never been skilled at bearing; but he also doesn't want to let go of Mikasa's hand. He squeezes hers just slightly, and she squeezes back, knowing this could be her last chance to tell him. Eren's cheeks go pink, and Mikasa opens her mouth to say something, but the carriage has come to a halt and Armin opens the door. Eren and Mikasa both turn to him, their own expressions matching his somber one. "Eren, we're here," he says quietly, and holds out his hand. Eren swallows heavily and takes Armin's hand and steps out onto the cobbled sidewalk. Armin keeps Eren's hand in his, brings up his other hand and holds Eren's hand between both of his, head bowed and voice tearful when he says, "M-Maybe we can convince them. You d-didn't do anything wrong."

Eren pulls Armin into a tight embrace. "I'll try my hardest to make sure we see each other again," he says, and Armin is already failing to hold back his tears. But Armin lets go, and Eren turns to Jean. "You may be a horse-faced motherfucker, but you protected my friends. I'm grateful to you." To Eren's surprise, Jean pulls him into a hug.

"You bastard," Jean says, and even his voice is trembling. "You better come out of here alive." Jean releases him and though his face is stoic, his eyes are red and puffy.

Finally Eren turns back to Mikasa, and again she opens her mouth to say something, but the members of the Military Police in charge of guarding the tribunal reach them.

"Why is Jaeger not in handcuffs?" one of them yells. Erwin and Levi walk up then, standing protectively behind Eren.

"We brought him here free of binding to show the members of the tribunal that he is still under our control, and that he respects this tribunal and the military force behind it," Erwin says. "Handcuffs are unnecessary."

The two guards look surprised, but the one who spoke originally regains her composure quickly. "Eren Jaeger must be handcuffed if he is to remain in Stohess, Commander." After a moment, Erwin nods.

"Turn around, Eren. Let them do it." Eren does as he is told, and looks at Mikasa while the cuffs are snapped onto his wrists. When she meets his gaze, her angry face melts into one of concern. But the moment is cut short when the guard turns Eren back around.

"We will escort Jaeger inside. I suggest the members of the Survey Corps find their place in the tribunal."

All of them glare at the guards before giving Eren as comforting looks as they can muster, finally walking away towards the building. Mikasa lingers behind, and throws her arms around Eren's shoulders, much to the chagrin of the guards. Before they can pull her off of him, she whispers into his ear, "Fight, Eren. I can't lose you—"

But the guards have grabbed her shoulders and pulled her off, and if Mikasa had had her 3D Maneuver Gear they might have been dead for how her expression hardens, her body immediately moving into a fighting position. "Mikasa, don't!" Armin calls and runs back to them, grabbing her hand. "I'm sorry," he says to the guards. "Eren is our friend, and this is very hard on us."

The guards do not relent their defensive position, but one of them says, "Hurry up and get inside, now. If you cause any more trouble you will be arrested."

"Thank you," Armin says, and he and Mikasa both look at Eren one last time before heading back to join Jean, Erwin, and Levi.

Like last time, the guards bring him into the court room and install the metal pole in the center of the floor to immobilize him almost completely. He's crouched there on his knees, but this time he doesn't look around in shock and fright for his future. He already knows what's going to happen, and although he wishes Armin could be right as usual, it's doubtful that Eren will be receiving his freedom today.

Commander-in-Chief Darius Zackley looks down on him again from his place in the center head of the hall. "Here we are again. The Survey Corps has had its chance to prove Eren Jaeger's worth to humanity. Today I will decide if the threat he poses to us necessitates his removal to Military Police custody." He looks at Erwin. "Care to begin, Commander Smith?"

Erwin does not look at Eren, or at Darius. He stares straight ahead. "In bringing Eren Jaeger with the Survey Corps during our fifty-seventh expedition outside the walls, our most important objective, and what Sergeant Levi and I personally promised to accomplish at the previous tribunal, was to show that Jaeger can be controlled, and consequently does not pose a threat to humanity. We did require his power during the expedition. He changed in order to fight a female humanoid Titan, who we suspect was the person responsible for killing Sergeant Zoe's experimental Titans before we left. Once the female Titan escaped, Jaeger came back to us. He harmed no one besides the target."

"And yet you come back with so few surviving soldiers," Commander Nile Dok of the Military Police replies. The four young members of the Survey Corps bow their heads in response. Erwin and Levi are stone faced.

"All of our soldiers are aware of the risk they run when joining the Survey Corps. It is an unfortunate but necessary truth that Survey Corps members always run the highest statistic of early mortality."

"Then how exactly was Jaeger a help to humanity?" Nile shoots back. "The death toll for your soldiers was just as high – if not higher – than previous expeditions. And not only did you fail your mission and retreat the same day, but Jaeger apparently was incapable of preventing so many deaths. I don't see how allowing him to remain in the Survey Corps is a help to humanity at all."

Mikasa's scowl deepens, and she almost jumps when Armin's hand finds hers, squeezing it tightly, though whether to comfort her or remind her not to blow up she isn't sure. She may not even be capable of blowing up; unlike the usual rage, she's plagued by the feeling of her throat closing off. The Commander-in-Chief already looks decided and Eren's head is bowed in defeat and for once she is so scared that she can't breathe.

"Has this Tribunal forgotten how Jaeger aided our young trainees when Titans breached the wall at Trost? He prevented further casualties in immediate aid to the soldiers trapped in the supply area, and sealed the hole left by the Colossal Titan. Perhaps you refuse to see how Jaeger can help humanity, but it is folly to claim that he has harmed humanity."

"Tell that to your dead soldiers, Commander Smith," Nile responds without missing a beat. A cacophony of murmurs erupts in the hall.

Eren feels tears stinging at his eyes, but he continues to follow his orders from Erwin: do not make a scene, not like the last tribunal. Being beat down by Levi won't help this time, and showcasing his capability of a calm demeanor is much too important. Eren does understand this, but his silence is more due to his lack of energy. Everyone in the room but his own comrades and Darius are in an uproar of distrust and anger. The feeling from upon their return with so few remaining soldiers eats him up inside; defeated, it takes all his strength to not sob aloud. This fear has never burdened him before. For the first time in his life he is too tired and too afraid to fight.

Darius holds up his hand and slowly the angry voices of the tribunal members die out. He gives Erwin a meaningful look. "It seems the tribunal is overwhelmingly against you, Commander."

Finally Erwin meets his gaze, expression hard. "With all due respect, it was so at the last tribunal as well, and the opposition then was borne of ignorance." Only hushed murmurs erupt from the tribunal this time, and Darius again puts up his hand to silence them.

"I trust your judgment, Commander Smith, but I cannot overlook the failure of your objective and the loss of so many soldiers, ones that, if you truly are capable of controlling Eren Jaeger, may have been avoided. I'm afraid that given the circumstances, I will have to transfer Jaeger to Military Police custody."

Surprisingly, this time the tribunal does not burst into murmurs. The room is silent as a grave, save only Eren's hushed sobs. Some members of the Military Police nod to each other as if they had expected this outcome, others smile with triumph. Mikasa notices Annie in the ranks of the few Military Police guards, her 3D Maneuver Gear at the ready by special allowance. But Mikasa is too distraught to pay much attention to Annie's stony face, an expression identical to Erwin's and Levi's.

Both Erwin and Nile respond in time with each other, "Understood, Commander Zackley."

"Good, this tribunal is dismissed."

As soon as the words leave Darius' lips, Nile orders a few members of the Military Police to escort Eren to prison. "Gag him, restrain him so that there is no possible way for him to cause a self-inflicted injury. Do it now!"

The few members of the Survey Corps watch in horror as the Military Police soldiers do as they were told. Tears stream from the eyes of Eren's friends as they do his own as he obediently allows the rough hands of the Military Police soldiers to bind and gag him in front of the entire tribunal.

"They can't do this," Jean whispers.

"We don't even get to say goodbye?" Armin asks in return, and he looks over towards Levi and Erwin.

Mikasa's grip on the banister leaves her knuckles deathly white. Her gaze had never left Eren. "E-Eren!" she shouts, drawing the attention of the whole room. "Fight! You can't give up!"

Eren looks up at her, and can feel the fire in her eyes even from so far away. He grits his teeth and focuses all his energy on her fire.

"Kill or be killed, Eren, you can't forget!"

_It can't end like this._

"You have to fight!"

"Detain her!" Nile shouts from the other side of the tribunal. Soldiers scramble to get to her. Erwin pushes Armin and Jean out of the way to grab her shoulder.

"Ackerman, what do you think you're doing?"

Her glare is piercing as she says, "Fighting to save the only person who has ever saved me."

His grip on her shoulder tightens. "You will ruin all of the progress we've made by showing his complacency and goodwill, something Eren worked very hard to maintain."

"And what good has it done him?" she snaps. "He's about to be imprisoned indefinitely and no one has done anything to stop it. I am not about to sit by and watch him be taken from me." She pulls out of his grasp and turns back toward Eren, prepared to jump down as Levi had done once upon a time. Whether she had a chance of rescuing him here and now or this whole endeavor would end with them both imprisoned for life, she does not know or care. The only thing running through her mind is that she cannot lose him.

But to the shock and apparent horror of everyone in the tribunal, the Military Police's work in binding him had not been thorough enough. When Eren transforms, it is his full-fledged titan form to which the tribunal becomes witness.

The military police guards immediately draw their swords, unarmed soldiers running for the doors as Eren's head crashes into the ceiling. The sound of falling rubble and terrified shrieks almost drown out Armin screaming Eren's name as a few of the braver armed guards catapult into the air, aiming to bring him down. Annie is among them, and closest to reaching Eren. Mikasa screams just as Armin had, and Jean and Levi have to grab her to prevent her from jumping into the line of fire. But just when it seems that Annie is going to swerve to cut into the back of the titan's neck, to the shock of the few still paying attention, Annie flips midair and sends her sword straight through the chest of the guard behind her.

"Weapons for you, Ackerman!" she shouts as the other armed guards swerve aside, just as shocked as the members of the Survey Corps. Mikasa takes that chance to pull out of Jean's and Levi's grasp, vaulting off of the seats and landing on the floor in a crouch where the now-dead soldier had dropped his blades. She stands tall with one in each hand before Eren's titan form. Annie continues to fight off the other guards, her impeccable form no match for the typically lazy and unpracticed Military Police.

"Eren!" Mikasa shouts, and the titan looks down at her, distracted from the humans battling each other upon hearing his name. "Eren, do you remember me?"

He makes to lean down, and catches his head on the ceiling again, causing more blocks of concrete to break away, falling just above where Mikasa stood.

"Mikasa, watch out above you!" Armin shrieks, but she has no need to worry or move out of the way. Eren regained his composure quickly and moves his large hand to bat the blocks in the direction of the Military Police guards. Annie swoops out of the way easily, though two other guards are not so lucky, the sound of crushed limbs too loud and too familiar.

"Eren," Mikasa says, firmly and with a recovering calm. "We need to leave. Reinforcements will be here in very little time I'm sure."

He leans down more carefully this time, reaching his hand out towards her, palm up. Friends and foes alike watch the scene with wide eyes as she jumps onto his proffered hand. He lifts her up to his shoulder gently, and when he moves she grabs strands of his long hair to keep her balance.

"Eren, Ackerman!" comes a yell from the stands, and they both pause and look to see Levi was the one who addressed them. "This is it. Your actions will incriminate all of us, and possibly the rest of the Survey Corps. Everything is over now." Mikasa glares at him.

"Everything would've been over if Eren had been taken away."

Annie swoops down and lands in front of Eren. "Mikasa is right," she says. "This government is corrupt, and the Military Police is a joke. The royalty cares nothing for any of its civilians. They would sacrifice each and every one of us if it meant keeping themselves alive."

Armin stares at his best friends, the streaks of tears beginning to dry on his cheeks making his skin itch. "I-It's true," he cuts in, and Jean turns to look at him in shock. "They're complacent in keeping our situation static even though with Eren we have the means to take back what the Titans have stolen from us. More than that, even, we could really do what Eren's always wanted. We could get rid of all of them." The rest of the people in the room stare at him in shock. "Isn't that...what we should do now? Mikasa was right, reinforcements will probably show up any time now."

After a long moment Erwin nods. "We have no choice at this point. We'll have to strategize quickly on how we can get out of this city with as few casualties as possible." He glances at Armin and Jean. "Especially from our own group."

"We'll have to split up," Armin says. "Everyone going with Eren will just draw more attention to us."

"There's a secret passage out of the city," Annie cuts in. "I don't think many still know about it. I only happened to find it once when searching the city." Erwin and Levi watch her with almost as much suspicion as Mikasa and Armin, but finally Erwin nods.

"Okay, Levi, Arlert, Kirschstein, and I will follow Leonhardt. Jaeger must stay in his titan form, which will provide a diversion for us to escape with a smaller likelihood of being caught. Ackerman, stay with Jaeger to cover him. Most of the Military Police may be out of practice, but I know there are soldiers left that stand a chance of bringing Jaeger down."

"But if we split up," Armin says, "we'll need to set a rendezvous point. I think...I think we should go for the goal of our first mission outside the wall. We need to make it to Eren's old house."

"That's a far trek," Jean mutters. "We may have to see if anyone else from the 140th will join us."

"That's fine," Erwin says. "If we can make it back to the Survey Corps training base, we'll figure what to do from there. For now, the Military Police will be primarily concerned with eradicating Jaeger. The chances of them immediately sending any form of police to the Survey Corps to disband them without officiating it with the King is highly unlikely."

"But how will we get Eren through all of the land there is between here and there?" Mikasa shouts down to them. "We may only have Military Police within the city, but the Garrison and other members of the Survey Corps won't know to leave him be."

Erwin stares at her for a long minute. "You're going to have to think on your feet, Ackerman. You're our most skilled soldier, and you will do what you feel is necessary to protect him. That's an order.

"As for the guards still in this room..." He trails off, and everyone's gaze runs to the three guards left, standing apart from each other and frozen in fear. Erwin stares at them with his cold blue eyes. "I'm sorry. You should have escaped when you had the chance."

With only those words as her orders, Annie launches herself into the air. The guard closest to her is the first to be sliced down. The other two try to run, but they aren't quick enough. Blood pools around the lifeless bodies, more blood spattered across the room from Annie's earlier kills. Armin's and Jean's expressions are both horror-struck, but there is no time for them to voice their discomfort. Erwin and Levi have already leaped out of the seats and began undoing the dead soldier's harnesses.

"Arlert, Ackerman, get over here. You'll need 3D Maneuver Gear. You as well, Ackerman," Erwin calls out. "Quickly, we're running out of time."

Jean and Armin hear Mikasa ask Eren to let her down in the moment they hesitated, but Levi's glare in their direction motivates them to jump down and find gear for themselves. But even as they were finishing putting on their gear the first Military Police soldiers arrive. Annie and Levi are quick in cutting the few down, giving Mikasa enough time to return to her place on Eren's shoulder. As soon as she is secure Eren busts through the building, sending large pieces of concrete and rubble flying off to crash into other buildings. And as the dust rises, Eren's awesome form risen above it, the rest of their team is able to slip into it following Annie's lead.

As expected, the next wave of soldiers that come through focus solely on the fact that somehow a titan had breached the wall. Eren is agile enough already to beat down most of the soldiers that fly towards him, and any that he misses are easily cut down by Mikasa. She doesn't see their comrades leave, which gives her hope.

Without another humanoid titan to challenge him, getting to the wall is relatively simple, and climbing it is simpler still. They are fortunate that it is grassland on the other side, and not another city, because as soon as they climb down, Eren begins to slow, his limbs moving lethargically until his knees can seemingly no longer support him.

"No, Eren...!" Mikasa breathes. "You can't stop now. It's too soon!"

She swings around to the back of his neck. "Eren!" she shouts, but his titan form is beginning to decompose. Her eyes widen in horror, and she breathes his name again before fumbling to take out her swords and cutting into the back of his neck, in a loose triangle around the middle. After tearing away at the skin that is quickly rotting, she finds him, unconscious and with welts covering his face and arms where his body had been connected to the titan's. He isn't breathing.

"No," she gasps, repeating the word over and over under her breath as she carries him several meters away from the rotting titan corpse and lays him on the grass. She fumbles over herself for moment before tilting his head back and pressing her lips to his, exhaling air into his mouth until her lungs are emptied, and then gasping for breath as she moves both hands above his heart and begins to pump against his chest. "Eren, breathe," she pants with the adrenaline of fear. "Please don't leave me, Eren...!"

Mikasa tilts his head back again and remembers to plug his nose with her other hand this time, her mouth crashing into his once more, though given her breathlessness she isn't sure if doing this will work at all. But to her surprise, the welts are already starting to fade, and as she pumps at his chest again, he begins to cough. Her hands remain on his heaving chest and she says, "Eren, are you okay? I-I thought you were dead, I—"

She stops talking as his coughing fit subsides and he looks up at her weakly. "Mikasa," is all he says, quietly. There are tears already drying at the corners of his eyes, probably from the pain of his fit, possibly from something more. He reaches his hand up slowly with what little strength he has and Mikasa hadn't even realized she was crying until his thumb brushed the tears away.

The self-control that she usually prides herself on wavers for a moment then, with his palm cupping her cheek and staring into her eyes like the titans and the corrupted government have never existed, like she is the only person in the world. He looks at her like she _is_ the world. The way she has always looked at him.

"Eren," she says, and she hates how tearful her voice sounds, so she leans down and presses her lips to his again. His lips part for her, his fingers leaving her face to run through her hair, and she clutches at his shirt when their tongues touch. Strength is slowly returning to Eren, and his other arm wraps around her, pulling her closer as their mouths move together.

Slowly the kiss, wet and tender, comes to an end, and they gaze into each other's eyes again.

"Thank you," Eren finally says, and he's smiling softly. "I should've known you would end up saving me."

"That's my job, after all," Mikasa responds, a teary smile of her own on her face. "Where you go, I go."

"I love you."

The words take a moment to register, the fluttering feeling in her stomach returning even stronger than when they kissed. She swallows and nods, knowing full well that her face is bright red. "I love you, too," she manages to say. Eren laughs a breathy laugh.

"I know." Her cheeks burn even brighter, but she places another kiss on his lips regardless.

"We need to go," she says against his lips. "We've tarried here longer than we should have already. Military Police will be on their way. Can you walk?" Their eyes meet again and he nods reassuringly. He stumbles a bit when she helps him up, and though Mikasa is sure that he is strong enough, he lets her carry him on her back.

They walked like that for several miles in silence, which is broken by Mikasa. "Nothing will ever be the same," she says quietly. Eren presses his face into her neck and breathes softly. He doesn't say anything for a long while, but when he finally speaks, there's a tenderness in his voice.

"It'll be fine. I think I like it better this way."

_No I don't remember us falling in love_  
_But I'm sure that it happened_  
_No I don't remember us falling in love_  
_This sort of thing is old-fashioned  
_Remember Us, Gabriel Royal


End file.
